Prosecutors Mull Charges in Detroit Porch Shooting

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors said Wednesday that they are reviewing possible charges against a suburban Detroit homeowner in the shooting death of a 19-year-old woman on his porch earlier this month after police provided additional material they had requested.

Earlier this week, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said it had begun a warrant review process related to the Nov. 2 death of Renisha McBride, who was shot in the face outside a Dearborn Heights home in the early morning hours. The office said Wednesday that Dearborn Heights police have provided them with “additional investigation” material that will assist in their review of the case.

Few details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting have been made public. Police say they believe McBride was involved in a car accident nearby in Detroit and family members say she likely approached the man’s home in search of help.

The Associated Press has left several messages with Dearborn Heights police and the homeowner’s attorney seeking comment. The 54-year-old homeowner has not been named because he hasn’t been charged.

Detroit police Sgt. Michael Woody said 911 dispatchers received a call about 1 a.m. to report a non-injury car accident several blocks north of where the shooting later occurred. The caller said the driver fled after hitting a parked car, but Woody said no units were sent because the call was lower priority and police were tied up with other calls.

Woody said another caller said the driver was back at the vehicle about a half-hour later, but nobody was there by the time police and rescue workers arrived. He said the car belongs to a member of McBride’s family and that police believe McBride was driving it when it was wrecked but can’t prove it.

Under a 2006 Michigan self-defense law, a homeowner has the right to use force during a break-in, said Curt Benson, who teaches at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. “But if they’re not breaking in, you have to show you honestly believed your life was in danger,” Benson said.